EIA Screening Tool

Sensitivity Theme for Reporting

13th National Biodiversity Planning Forum

8 June 2016

Environmental Advisory Services

Nicolene Fourie Chief GIS Specialist: GIS Operations Directorat: Enterprise Geospatial Information Management E- mail: nfourie@environment.gov.za

Contribution from Dr Rudi Pretorius

http://www.sasdi.gov.za/

Inaugural meeting of the

Committee for Spatial Information

6 July 2016

Overview Input Contributions

• SEA documentation

• Consultation EGIM Internal

• Consultation EGIM, CSIR, SANBI

• Internal DEA: EIA, B&C

• WG 7

• Provincial meeting (Gauteng, NC, to come KZN and WC)

• 2016 BPF

Sensitivity Themes Structure

• Sensitivity Themes

• Classes

• Dataset links

Application of Sensitivity Themes

• Screening process

• Screening report

Objective

• Create awareness

• Contributions and input

2014 Regulations: Screening

The 2014 Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations (Section 16 (1) (b) (v)) make provision that an application for environmental authorisation must be accompanied inter alia by:

The report generated by the national web based environmental screening tool

Screening can be defined as the process of using spatial environmental data to

determine if applications for Environmental Authorisations (Basic Assessment, Scoping and Environmental Impact Assessment) have considered the major environmental issues in the area where development is being proposed.

Screening tool referred to in regulations is an on-line tool that enables the user to generate a report (the screening report) referred to in the 2014 EIA regulations.

Screening tool report

types

General screening

Env sensitivity

Screening Report flag

environmental sensitivities

Commercial

Wind

SEA

Screening

report based on sensitivity

features and buffers

identified during the SEA process

Commercial

Solar

SEA

Screening report based on sensitivity

features and buffers

identified during the SEA process

Electricity grid

SEA

Mining

Mining and biodiversity

guideline

Based on the Mining and biodiversity

guideline

Nuclear energy

SEA

Fracking

SEA

Aquaculture

SEA

Screening Tool Reporting

2016/17 2017/18

Contribution from Dr Rudi Pretorius

General Screening • Various national and sub-national

environmental datasets for environmental features will be used • Protected areas, NPAES focus

areas, CBAs, Threatened ecosystems, Wetlands, Estuaries

• Etc. • In addition cadastral information

will be available • Screening tool will show if any of

these datasets intersects the proposed development area and the development footprint

• No sensitivity criteria will be applied • Screening report will contain

information extracted from datasets that intersect the development area and footprint

• General screening report will not reference protocols

Screening Tool Reporting Wind and Solar (SEA) screening

• Sensitivity features grouped into broad sensitivity categories

• E.g. Agriculture: High potential agricultural land, Field crop boundaries

• Sensitivity feature criteria - 4 colour coded sensitivity classes

• Sensitivity classes mostly based on buffer distances

• Criteria were applied in REDZ only

• Screening tool will apply criteria outside REDZ as well where possible

• This means wind and solar screening can be done outside of REDZ as well

• Screening report informed by sensitivity category and relevant protocols

Landscape Sensitivity: Buffer

Screening Report Content Main sections of report (proposed)

1. Title/Heading: Name of project 2. CIPS application number: 3. Date of report: System generated 4. Applicant / EAP details: 5. Competent authority name: 6. Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer text 7. Property details: Erf, farm number, SG code,

Suburb, Town, Municipality name, S12 name, province

8. Orientation map: An orientation map showing major roads, towns as well as the properties under consideration.

9. Summary table: A summary table listing sensitivity features in the area under consideration.

10. Summary impact map: A map showing properties with all sensitivity features, development footprint.

11. Individual feature maps: Maps showing each sensitivity feature on a separate map with development footprint and key statistics/attributes.

Sensitivities Themes Application Agriculture Sensitivities

Categories Sub-Categories Datasets Name Wind

Very High

Wind

High

Wind

Medium

Wind

Low

Solar

Very High

Solar

High

Solar

Medium

Solar

Low

Land Capability Agricultural Potential (Land Capability)

Field crop boundaries

RE_SEA Agricultural

sensitivity

Agricultural sensitivity_VH-Sensitivity Land capability classes I

to III, as well as field crop

boundaries for Pivot

irrigation,

horticulture/viticulture and

shadenet

Land capability classes I

to III, as well as field crop

boundaries for Pivot

irrigation,

horticulture/viticulture and

shadenet

RE_SEA Agricultural

sensitivity

Agricultural sensitivity_H-Sensitivity

All remaining field crop

boundaries not considered

very high sensitivity

All remaining field crop

boundaries not considered

very high sensitivity

RE_SEA Agricultural

sensitivity

Agricultural sensitivity_M-Sensitivity Land capability class IV that is

not under cultivation

Land capability class IV that is

not under cultivation

RE_SEA Agricultural

sensitivity

Agricultural sensitivity_L-Sensitivity Land capability classes V to VIII

that is not under cultivation

Land capability classes V to VIII

that is not under cultivation

Croplands

Croplands Sensitivity_M Croplands

Croplands Sensitivity_M Croplands

Agricultura Activity

Croplands

Sensitivities Themes

Sensitivity Themes

Categories

Sub-Categories

HEADING

SUB-HEADING

REPORT

Sensitivities Themes 1. Agriculture

• Land Capability • Croplands

2. Marine Biodiversity • Ecosystems • Species

3. Terrestrial Biodiversity

• Species • Ecosystems

4. Conservation

• Expansion Strategy

• Protected areas • Conservation

Areas

5. Geomorphology

• Topography • Soil • Rocks • Minerals • Mining • Geology • Degraded areas

6. Heritage

• Palaeontology • Archaeology • Cultural • Other Heritage

Sites

7. Hydrology

• Surface water • Ground water

8. Infrastructure

• Grid infrastructure • Transport • Bulk infrastructure • Telecommunication • Radar • Social • Nuclear sites • Landfill • Civil Aviation • Restricted areas • SEA Sensitivities

9. Visual

• Landforms

Sensitivities Themes

Sensitivities Themes

Question

Nicolene Fourie Chief GIS Specialist: GIS Operations Directorat: Enterprise Geospatial Information Management (EGIM) E- mail: nfourie@environment.gov.za

Sensitivities Themes

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